Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — A fourth suspect charged in a conspiracy to ship weapons from Iowa to Lebanon has pleaded guilty. Thirty one-year-old Bassem Herz entered his plea on Thursday in a federal court in Cedar Rapids. Herz, along with three family members, was arrested in May 2015 after agents intercepted shipping containers headed from Cedar Rapids to Beirut that had many guns and rounds of ammunition hidden inside construction equipment.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Republican House leaders plan to introduce legislation that would fund water quality initiatives without using a sales tax set aside for education infrastructure. The announcement Thursday indicates Gov. Terry Branstad’s proposal to merge the two efforts is dead this session. House lawmakers say their proposal would use other revenue sources, which could include money that typically goes to the general fund or dollars from a separate infrastructure fund.

CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man who had long been suspected in the 1985 slaying of his wife’s lover was charged in the death after investigators took a fresh look at the case. Anthony Burtch, 57, was arrested at his Iowa City home and charged with first-degree murder in the death of 22-year-old Lance Lee DeWoody.

SHELLSBURG, Iowa (AP) — An eastern Iowa man has been charged in the death of a woman whose body was found near a stolen truck. The Iowa Department of Public Safety says Thursday that 32-year-old David Miller has been charged with first-degree murder in the October 2015 death of 25-year-old Sabrina Hustad. An autopsy showed she died of multiple stab wounds and strangulation. Police found her body when they arrived at Miller’s residence in Shellsburg. Her body was near a stolen truck.

The U-S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa reports a woman from Pottawattamie County was sentenced to prison Thursday (Today) on a weapons charge. United States District Court Judge John A. Jarvey sentenced 35-year old
Sarah D. Long, of Council Bluffs, to 30 months (nearly 2 1/2 years) in prison. Long was also sentenced to three years of supervised release to follow her prison term.

The woman pled guilty to being a drug user in possession of a firearm on December 3rd, 2015. Long admitted that on or about August 11th, 2015, she was arrested by the Council Bluffs Police Department for operating a stolen vehicle. At the time of her arrest, she was found to be in possession of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and a loaded 9 mm handgun.

The investigation was conducted by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports the arrest of a Clarinda man on Thursday.  At approximately 2:15pm deputies arrested 31-year-old Mark A. Achterberg of Clarinda on a valid Montgomery County bench warrant for Violation of Probation on the original charge of Theft 2nd Degree.  Achterberg was taken to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $5,000 bond.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Cherokee construction office reports the reconstruction of Iowa 196 in Sac County requires closing the roadway and detouring traffic beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, April 4th, until Monday, May 9th, weather permitting.

Iowa 196 traffic will be routed around the construction area using U.S. 71, Sac County Road M-54, and U.S. 20. Peterson Contractors Inc., of Reinbeck, and Godbersen-Smith Construction Co., of Ida Grove, were awarded the $25.3 million roadway reconstruction project.

Cass County Auditor Dale Sunderman reports another candidate has filed nomination papers to run for the June 7th Primary election, in Cass County. Nick Hensley, of Cumberland, has filed to run on the Republican ticket for the District 4 Board of Supervisor’s seat.

Hensley joins Steve Baier and Barry Moore, both from Griswold, and Todd Hansen, of Atlantic, in seeking the seat being vacated at the end of the year by Chuck Rieken. Baier, Moore and Hansen are all Republicans. No democrats have filed nomination in any of the races in Cass County.

The deadline to file certified papers with the required number of petitioned signatures, is March 30th.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office has hired a new Deputy. Officials say Nathan Grove will begin his new position on April 1st. Grove will be trained with experienced Deputies for a month before starting work at the overnight shift. He’s a certified officer, and before taking the job with Guthrie County, he worked as a Police Officer in the City of Manning since May, 2015.

Grove holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Grandview University, and did an internship with the West Des Moines Police Department while getting his degree. He will be taking the position of Guthrie County Deputy as part of the 28E agreement with the City of Guthrie Center.